


same old feeling (and a fever burning bright)

by sammyspreadyourwings



Series: my precious bird of myth (how can you spread your wings) [4]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe Fallen Angel, Brian May's 1974 Hepatitis Diagnosis, Fallen Angels, Fever, Late at Night, M/M, Protective John Deacon, Protectiveness, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26973460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammyspreadyourwings/pseuds/sammyspreadyourwings
Summary: John has seen his humans deal with illness before, colds and flus, but whatever is happening to Brian is different.And he has never gotten the hang of fevers, they make no sense.
Relationships: John Deacon/Brian May/Freddie Mercury/Roger Taylor
Series: my precious bird of myth (how can you spread your wings) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956025
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28
Collections: Dork Lovers Server Challenges





	same old feeling (and a fever burning bright)

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "Stop hogging all of the blankets."
> 
> More Fallen angel John. My prompts are out of order, lmao.

Perhaps the weirdest thing about humans John has discovered is how they are when they’re sick. Their skin can be boiling and their brain-melting, and they’ll still be shivering and claiming their freezingly.

Or how dehydrated they can be but they vomit every time they take a sip of water.

John wants the weird things about humans to be cute, like how Roger only buys things in damaged boxes because he is worried about them getting left behind, the urge doubled when the cup has an animal face. John doesn’t want the weird things to leave him helplessly confused because he can’t figure out how to help them.

“Stop hogging the blankets,” he had told Brian.

But then he had to give him all the blankets because he was shivering and his teeth chattering, and he was mutter about how cold he was. The sweating had gotten worse and even John was stunned by the warmth of his forehead.

“Brian?”

Brian whimpers and rolls towards John. He doesn’t understand – fevers happen when they are sick, Brian isn’t sick. John had asked about him feeling bad, but Brian denied it and it seems weird to lie about feeling bad. He sort of understands it when it comes to emotions – but physical health?

John pulls the blankets back and apologizes as Brian shivers more violently.

“What’s wrong?”

It takes him a second to realize but Brian hasn’t woken up. He is mumbling and he is moving than he does in sleep. John shakes him, but it doesn’t wake up.

“Brian?” He tries again.

The guitarist is the one closest to figuring out how not human he truly is but the guitarist doesn’t seem quite aware of what is happening around him or even awake. John places his hand on the center of Brian’s chest and pushes his magic in. What had been a little heat in the liver – back in Australia when they found out a few days after the beach that Brian was trying to hide his arm _rotting_ off – is now an inferno.

John pushes at it, curious to see what the problem could be. Brian hadn’t drunk anything – and now that he is thinking back on the past few weeks he realizes that Brian hasn’t drunk much of anything, barely finishing a water bottle a day.

As he pokes and prods to get an answer he doesn’t realize how loud Brian’s whimpering has gotten – bad enough it filters through the thin wall because he can hear Roger and Freddie’s voices through the door. John unlatches it, without moving from Brian but pulling his magic away from Brian’s liver. He hopes that the distraction of Brian’s condition will be enough for them to forget about any weirdness.

“What’s happening?” Freddie asks.

Roger stumbles over, still half asleep, recoiling his hand from Brian’s skin.

“Sick, maybe?” John tilts his hand, he wishes that he had his powers at full, this would be so easy to heal.

Perhaps not easy, but well within his power.

“Fevering,” Roger mumbles, “pretty high.”

Freddie pushes back the sweaty curls away from his face, clicking his tongue in concern. Brian doesn’t react to the touch. John reaches out to touch him again, nosing around his liver.

He touches a spot deep inside of him and tries to pull. The part that had let him fly like birds and spin the magics around him as easy as breathing. He could have mended his own broken wings, he had done the same for his Sister’s – his true Sister, a clutch mate. Now when he needs it the most, he cannot draw upon it.

John doesn’t know humans, but he knows when organs burn it can mean nothing good for them. Brian doesn’t react to touch, and even though he is shifting around the same area he has before, Brian isn’t whimpering or whining.

“He’s fading,” John mumbles.

It isn’t like he can he feel humans as he could like an Angel, but these three, he can feel. Roger’s inferno and Freddie’s hurricane, but Brian feels like a thunderstorm, bright and sharp. This feels like the after-rain of a horrid storm – a storm being broken up because it has nothing else to give.

“Fading?” Roger asks, blinking, “John?”

“Getting worse,” he repeats, “we need an ambulance.”

Freddie scampers off the bed and towards the nearest phone. John looks around.

“Roger,” John whispers, “can you get a wet rag?”

When the blond disappears to the bathroom, John slides his fingers up to Brian’s heart. He can feel the slightest tremble near his heart. The soul there is dim. John bites down on his cheek how had he missed this. Its no curse, but a failing of the body. He should have known – should have seen.

Humans are fragile. His humans mean everything. John should have been more watchful. That was his job. To watch!

Now Brian is dying and he can’t do anything to stop it. The human doctors could, but he can’t. He is a Fallen Angel and he can do nothing to save Brian’s life. There is the extreme option, the last resort. He has never heard of an Angel tying themself to a human. John supposes his immortality would be a small price to pay.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, leave your thoughts and comments below or come talk to me on tumblr!


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